over: Meaning and Definition of

o•ver

Pronunciation: (ō'vur), [key]
— prep.
  1. above in place or position: the roof over one's head.
  2. above and to the other side of: to leap over a wall.
  3. above in authority, rank, power, etc., so as to govern, control, or have jurisdiction regarding: There is no one over her in the department now.
  4. so as to rest on or cover; on or upon: Throw a sheet over the bed.
  5. on or upon, so as to cause an apparent change in one's mood, attitude, etc.: I can't imagine what has come over her.
  6. on or on top of: to hit someone over the head.
  7. here and there on or in; about: at various places over the country.
  8. through all parts of; all through: to roam over the estate; to show someone over the house.
  9. to and fro on or in; across; throughout: to travel all over Europe.
  10. from one side to the other of; to the other side of; across: to go over a bridge.
  11. on the other side of; across: lands over the sea.
  12. reaching higher than, so as to submerge: The water is over his shoulders.
  13. in excess of; more than: over a mile; not over five dollars.
  14. above in degree, quantity, etc.: a big improvement over last year's turnout.
  15. in preference to: chosen over another applicant.
  16. throughout the length of: The message was sent over a great distance.
  17. until after the end of: to adjourn over the holidays.
  18. throughout the duration of: over a long period of years.
  19. in reference to, concerning, or about: to quarrel over a matter.
  20. while engaged in or occupied with: to fall asleep over one's work.
  21. via; by means of: He told me over the phone. I heard it over the radio.
  22. in addition to; besides: a profit over and above what they had anticipated.
  23. See(def. 8).
—adv.
  1. beyond the top or upper surface or edge of something: a roof that hangs over.
  2. so as to cover the surface, or affect the whole surface: The furniture was covered over with dust.
  3. through a region, area, etc.: He was known the world over.
  4. at some distance, as in a direction indicated: They live over by the hill.
  5. from side to side; across; to the other side: to sail over.
  6. across an intervening space: Toss the ball over, will you?
  7. across or beyond the edge or rim: The soup boiled over. The bathtub ran over.
  8. from beginning to end; throughout: to read a paper over; Think it over.
  9. from one person, party, etc., to another: Hand the money over. He made the property over to his brother.
  10. on the other side, as of a sea, a river, or any space: over in Japan.
  11. so as to displace from an upright position: to knock over a glass of milk.
  12. so as to put in the reversed position: She turned the bottle over. The dog rolled over.
  13. once more; again: Do the work over.
  14. in repetition or succession: twenty times over.
  15. in excess or addition: to pay the full sum and something over.
  16. in excess of or beyond a certain amount: Five goes into seven once, with two over.
  17. throughout or beyond a period of time: to stay over till Monday.
  18. to one's residence, office, or the like: Why don't you come over for lunch?
  19. so as to reach a place across an intervening space, body of water, etc.:Mayflower Her ancestors came over on the
  20. material printed all over with a floral design.
    1. over the entire surface of; everywhere:material printed all over with a floral design.
    2. thoroughly; entirely.
    3. finished:The war was all over and the soldiers came home.
  21. ended; finished: It seemed miraculous that the feud was all over with.
  22. in repetition; once more: The director had the choir sing one passage over again.
  23. See(def. 12).
  24. several times; repeatedly: They played the same record over and over.
  25. (in the U.S. during and after World War I) in or to Europe: Many of the boys who went over there never came back.
  26. finished or done: Let's get this thing over with, so that we don't have to worry about it any more.
—adj.
  1. upper; higher up.
  2. higher in authority, station, etc.
  3. serving, or intended to serve, as an outer covering; outer.
  4. remaining or additional, surplus; extra.
  5. too great; excessive (usually used in combination): Insufficient tact and overaggressiveness are two of his problems.
  6. ended; done; past: when the war was over.
—n.
  1. an amount in excess or addition; extra.
  2. a shot that strikes or bursts beyond the target.
    1. the number of balls, usually six, delivered between successive changes of bowlers.
    2. the part of the game played between such changes.
—v.t.
  1. to go or get over; leap over.
  2. to recover from.
—interj.
  1. (used in radio communications to signify that the sender has temporarily finished transmitting and is awaiting a reply or acknowledgment.) Cf.(def. 61).

over-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a prefixal use oforoccurring in various senses in compounds (overboard; overcoat; overhang; overlap; overlord; overrun; overthrow), and especially employed, with the sense of “over the limit,” “to excess,” “too much,” “too,” to form verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and nouns (overact; overcapitalize; overcrowd; overfull; overmuch; oversupply; overweight), and many others, mostly self-explanatory: a hyphen, which is commonly absent from old or well-established formations, is sometimes used in new coinages or in any words whose component parts it may be desirable to set off distinctly.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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